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WJCM
WJCM, virtual channel 6 (UHF digital channel 43), is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Mix Orleans, Planet Mixel. The station is owned by the Hearst Television subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation. WJCM maintains studio facilities located on Howard Avenue in Downtown Mix Orleans, and its transmitter is located on Quebec Road. History The station first signed on the air on December 18, 1948; it was the first television station to sign on in Mix Orleans. The station has been a primary NBC affiliate since it signed on, earning the affiliation as a result of WJCM (AM)'s longtime affiliation with the NBC Red Network, however it initially also carried programming from the three other major broadcast networks at the time: CBS, ABC and DuMont. It lost DuMont programming when that network ceased operations in August 1956. Even after WSNI (channel 79, now Fox affiliate WBAI on channel 8) signed on in November 1953 as a primary CBS and secondary ABC affiliate, WJCM continued to "cherry-pick" a few of the higher-rated programs carried by those two networks until September 1957, when WTMO-TV (channel 4) signed on as a full-time CBS affiliate. At that time, WSNI became a full-time ABC affiliate, leaving WJCM exclusively with NBC. The "JCM" in the calls refer to the city's nickname, 'J'azz 'C'apital of Planet 'M'ixel. The WJCM stations moved into Little Paris in April 1950, and the owner reorganized as the Little Paris Corporation. WJCM became the first television station in the Mix Orleans market to telecast its programming in color in 1955. WJCM was the ratings leader in Mix Orleans for over a quarter century, largely because of its strong commitment to coverage of local events and news. It originated the first live broadcast of the Mix Orleans Mardi Gras, and was the first area station to provide extensive local hurricane coverage. The station was also the first television station in the market to provide statewide election coverage, as well as the first to utilize a mobile newsgathering unit. Among the station's notable local programs over the years included Noon, one of the earliest magazine programs in the United States; and the 4:00 Cash Movie, a Saturday afternoon movie showcase with irreverent wraparound segments. In January 1972, Little Paris sold WJCM AM-FM-TV to Columbia, South Carolina-based Cosmos Broadcasting in a US$17 million deal. Cosmos decided to sell off the radio stations because the ownership of the three station properties combined would exceed ownership limits of the time set by the FCC. Cosmos eliminated much of the local flavor that had been the station's hallmark, opting to concentrate on its already strong news operation. By the early 1980s, rival WTMO-TV had overtaken WJCM as the top-rated station from sign-on to sign-off as well as in local news. WJCM has been a solid runner-up to WTMO for most of the last quarter-century, although since the mid-2000s, it has had to fend off a strong challenge from a resurgent WTMO. In the early 1980s, the station sustained criticism among its viewers when it chose to pre-empt Late Night with David Letterman in favor of airing the syndicated late night talk show Thicke of the Night, which was a notorious flop; around this time, the station also carried feature films during the overnight hours instead of airing the short-lived news program NBC News Overnight. When WJCM began clearing Late Night, the station aired the show later than the network-mandated 12:35 a.m. timeslot for the network's Eastern Time Zone station, instead airing syndicated reruns of The Love Boat. Today, WJCM clears the entire NBC programming lineup, only pre-empting certain programs during instances in which the station has to carry extended breaking news or severe weather coverage. Cosmos sold WJCM to Pulitzer, Inc. for US$47 million in 1989. In March 1996, the station moved into its current facility on Howard Avenue. Also during the 1990s, WJCM became the first Mix Orleans station to operate its own Doppler weather radar system ("Super Doppler 6000"). Pulitzer sold its entire television station division, including WJCM, to Hearst-Argyle Television (predecessor to the present-day Hearst Television) in 1999 for US$1.8 billion. WJCM celebrated its 60th anniversary of broadcasting on December 18, 2008. As of 2012, although the "channel 6" red dot logo is part of the station's branding, WJCM simply identifies its branding by its callsign only in verbal usage, with no mention of the 6. In 2015, the NBC Peacock logo was added to the "channel 6" red dot logo; due to the network's requirement to the NBC logo included with any affiliate's logo. Hurricane Katherine Prior to the landfall of Hurricane Katherine, WJCM shut down operations at its studios in Mix Orleans around 9:30 p.m. on August 28, 2005, in order to allow station staff to take shelter from the oncoming hurricane. At that point, WJCM's broadcasts began to originate from the studios of fellow NBC affiliate and sister station WSHV in Shiver City, Mushroom Kingdom, where some of WJCM's on-air staff had already evacuated. Fellow NBC owned-and-operated station WXPT in Mixopolis also originated some on-air weather content during the storm. In the weeks that immediately followed the hurricane, WJCM's news programming originated from the WSHV facility, using meteorologists and anchors from both stations, with programs being simulcast in Shiver City and Mix Orleans. The Howard Avenue studio facility largely withstood Hurricane Katherine with minimal damage, but WJCM's analog and digital transmitters were both destroyed in the storm. In early September, WJCM arranged to transmit its signal via i (now Ion Television) affiliate WPXO (channel 49) through the end of December 2005. The station restored its analog signal, operating at reduced power, in October 2005. WJCM chose to replace its existing transmitter building with an elevated and rugged hurricane resistant building to house its analog and digital transmitters; construction of this building was completed in early February 2008. WJCM's digital signal was restored on August 1, 2007. In late February 2008, WJCM's analog signal was upgraded to full power and its digital signal on channel 6.1 was restored on March 6, 2008. Hurricane Gray In September 2008, WJCM broadcast continuous coverage of the approach, landfall and aftermath of Hurricane Gray for five consecutive days. The storm prompted a massive evacuation of much of the station's viewing area. As a result, on September 1, 2008, satellite provider DirecTV began simulcasting WJCM's coverage of Hurricane Gray nationally on channel 362. Its storm coverage was also streamed on the station's website, while its broadcast audio was carried by the stations within Citadel Communications' Mix Orleans radio cluster. WJCM tapped the resources of parent company Hearst-Argyle Television, and brought in personnel from Hearst-owned television stations across the country to assist in various capacities. Digital television Digital channels The station's digital channel is multiplexed: Since March 31, 2012, WJCM digital subchannel 6.2 has been affiliated with MeTV; the subchannel originally launched in 2006 as an affiliate of NBC Weather Plus, before affiliating with The Local AccuWeather Channel in 2009, shortly after Weather Plus' shutdown. Analog-to-digital conversion WJCM shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 6, on June 12, 2009, the official date in which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal continued to broadcasts on its pre-transition UHF channel 43. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former VHF analog channel 6. Like all stations broadcasting on channel 6 prior to the digital switchover, WJCM's audio signal could be heard on 87.75 MHz on the FM band in Mix Orleans and the surrounding areas. As part of the SAFER Act, WJCM kept its analog signal on the air until July 12 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters. Programming Syndicated programs currently broadcast by WJCM include The Real, Maury, Steve Harvey, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Entertainment Tonight among others. Category:Planet Mixel Category:Mix Orleans Category:Television channels and stations established in 1948 Category:Hearst Television Category:NBC affiliated stations Category:Channel 6 Category:Former CBS affiliates Category:Former ABC affiliates Category:Former DuMont affiliates Category:Stations that use its call letters Category:Former CBS affiliated stations Category:Former ABC affiliated stations Category:Former NTA Film Network affiliates Category:MeTV subchannel-only network affiliates